Chapter One

HYOYEON

"Kim Hyoraeng , hey, did I wake you?" he heard hazily over the phone, he winced at the sound of his nickname. His family only referred to him to as Hyoraeng, the rest of the world referred to him as Hyoyeon. But there was one exception, Choi Sooyoung. He was Hyoraeng when Sooyoug needed something, and those days were a rarity. Hyoyeon rubbed his eyes to see that it was ten past seven in the morning. He groaned at the sight of the time and to see that the sun was hidden behind clouded skies.

"Nah, what's up?" Hyoyeon replied as he climbed out of bed and opened the window to the smell of Boston in the morning. As Hyoyeon looked out at the view of the city he could hear his best friend sounding frustrated over the phone. Hyoyeon shook his head in an effort to wake up properly before he made his way out of his bedroom and into the living room.

Hyoyeon and Choi Sooyoung had been best friends since they were kids. They both had the same dreams and went after their own pursuit of happiness. They both worked hard at school and grew up in the suburbs of Seoul , Korea

When Hyoyeon and Sooyoung got accepted to Stanford University, they were the talk of the town, two Korean boys off to the States to become accountants. Hyoyeon owed everything to Sooyoung. If it weren't for Sooyoung, Hyoyeon wouldn't have survived Stanford or received the promotion in Boston, which Sooyoung deserved instead of

him.

But he knew that Sooyoung wouldn't call him at this kind of hour if it weren't important. Even at seven in the morning, Hyoyeon knew the importance of Sooyoung's early morning call and presence at the New York office. They both worked for G&MC accounting firm, one of the leading firms in the country. Although New York was lucrative, Hyoyeon held one of Boston's head office positions, practically Sooyoung's boss.

"Mate, you know the Owen's accounts?" Sooyoung asked as Hyoyeon heard the clatter of papers and the sounds of erratic typing.

"Yeah?"

"IRS is looking into it, claiming fraud. G&MC are in trouble, Hyo, and I could be fired. I handled the accounts remember?" Sooyoung said reminding him.

"! That could be our asses on the line. What the hell happened?" Hyoyeon asked, utterly shocked at the circumstances his best friend was in. Having once worked for the New York office, by association Hyoyeon  too would get looked at.

"Frauds gone back long before we picked up the accounts but it doesn't look good, even for us. This account could ruin the company's reputation."

"Anything I can do?" he asked.

"Nah, I don't want to put this kind of pressure on you. You have your own problems in